


Ripples in the Darkness

by celestial_seraphim



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18687133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_seraphim/pseuds/celestial_seraphim
Summary: The world used to be in balance with all of the nations and benders living in harmony; however, Admiral Xehanort has begun launching attacks using Scala forces in secret. Riku is caught in the middle of a devious plan to capture powerful waterbenders, making the sacrifice for them to capture him for the sake of his village. After his escape, he surprisingly runs into the current Avatar, and his journey will start from there.





	1. Chapter 1

Harsh metal scraped into wrists as Riku tried to move them around when his arms started cramping up for about the thousandth time. Who knows how long it had been? Weeks? Months? The only light he ever saw was the lanterns that lit up the room, showing the many cells around him. Riku was thankful he could use his long hair to at least shield his eyes from seeing the others. There was a constant burning sensation shooting up and down his arms into his shoulders due to the shackles keeping his arms mercilessly outstretched. From what he could tell, the other water benders imprisoned here weren’t as strung up as him, but he was a master waterbender after all. Every now and then he wriggled his fingers around in an attempt to catch some kind of water that was around, but it only made his arms ache more. They were careful, very careful. They only brought him water to drink about twice a day. Every time they tightened his restraints even more and had a guard force his head up to ensure complete immobility. Their water tasted like shit anyway. 

With nothing but time on his hands, Riku listened. At this point, he could almost hear every bit of sound, even memorizing the guard’s movements by their footsteps. Of course, there were some nights when the guards would rather get drunk then patrol, but he could never predict exactly when that was going to happen. In the silence, he could hear heartbeats both from the guards and the other prisoners even hear the blood pumping through their veins like liquid through a straw. There was a connection there. He could feel it like something that was just out of reach. After all, people were mostly water, weren’t they? At one point, he thought about using it. He thought about how they treated him and his people as if they were dangerous monsters that needed to be controlled. Riku clenched his fists at the thought. No, no. He wouldn’t use that. He’d figure something out. The thought of rescue had left him a long time ago. No one was coming for them. 

Sensing someone’s presence, Riku tilted his head up, having to blow a strand of hair out of his face. He knew those yellow eyes and bald head anywhere. There was no change in expression as he looked him dead in the eyes. 

   “Admiral Xehanort. You don’t usually visit prisoners. Getting bored with the battlefield?” A smirk crossed his face. Having been here so long, he no longer felt fear. 

   “Just thought I’d see an actual master waterbender before they’re wiped out completely. In fact, maybe I should keep you alive for that very purpose,  _ Master  _ Riku.” That chuckle sent a chill down Riku’s spine. A sort of growl came from his parched throat. Even when he lunged forward, Xehanort stayed in place as the chains kept him back. 

   “Now, now. There’s no need for that. If you show me you can behave, I can get you out of this cage. Unless, you wish to rot away in here with the rest of your people. Or..maybe I should raise the stakes.” Xehanort snapped his fingers, and Riku glanced behind him when he heard new footsteps. He swore he had heard them before but very rarely. A dark helmet hid his face, but as soon as he walked up, he slowly removed it. He’d recognize those saffron eyes anywhere: the way they almost glowed against the fires of what once were his village, flying metal and screams. Riku lurched forward again against his restraints, hissing as his shoulders protested with a sharp, stinging pain. 

   “You! You led the attack. Vanitas or something like that, right? Just..just tell me why. We didn’t do anything. We did nothing to deserve this.” Though his voice was hoarse due to his own dry throat, Riku shouted the best he could. 

Vanitas looked to Xehanort for a few seconds before casting his gaze towards the floor. He found it to be too much to stare into Riku’s wild eyes for too long. “I was ordered to. Plain and simple. You waterbenders are much too dangerous to be left alone. You rejected the alliance.” There were long pauses before each sentence as if he was thinking about how to word each one. 

   “And I was right in choosing Vanitas to lead the attack. He follows orders well, and I know he’s the right one for this job.” Vanitas’ face changed slightly when Xehanort placed a hand on his shoulder. 

Riku stared at them intently as Xehanort leaned in and whispered something by his ear. The movement was ever so slight, but Vanitas had definitely been trembling for a few seconds. 

   “Now, let’s get this deed done. There are answers we need from this one.” Xehanort stood back as Vanitas approached Riku’s cage. Riku ignored every instinct, every impulse that was telling him to back up and try to get as far away as possible. There was no point. Where could he go? He didn’t care how weak his body felt. As soon as the shackles were undone, he was going to fight with everything he had. 

Just as Vanitas’ fingers were mere inches from the lock, he paused when all of them heard a crashing sound nearby. The steady beat of the guards’ footsteps followed shortly after. There were already a million scenarios going through Riku’s head, but the one that was the strongest and most likely was sending him into a near panic mode. 

   “Hm, an intruder. Perhaps a rescue party for Master Riku here,” Xehanort chuckled. The way he always stroked his beard pissed Riku off more. 

   “I can go take them out, Master.” Vanitas was already about to put his helmet back on, but Xehanort held up his hand. 

   “No need. If they’re here for him, then they’ll come to us.” Xehanort took a few steps back until he was hidden by a few of the cages. “You will fight them as soon as they come in. Show no mercy.” 

Riku’s eyes kept shifting between the metal door and Vanitas. Who could it possibly be? He had told all of them not to come for him. Don’t even bother. There were already so few water benders left free, but..he could think of one person who would pull a stunt like this. As he heard the doors burst open, hitting the back wall with a clang, Riku squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds. The look on his face turned to one of horror once he dared to open them. Vanitas stood in shock for a bit as he saw one of those mouse people standing there. In the next split second, he was smacked with a stream of water, knocking him onto his back as he cursed. 

   “Master Mickey! You need to get out of here! Don’t worry about me.” Riku feared if he kept pulling against his own restraints he might just tear his own arms off from the sheer force. The water..was literally right there..if only he wasn’t shackled up. 

   “Just sit tight, Riku. I promise I’m gonna get you out.” Turning the water on the floor to ice, he slid across to close the gap between him and Vanitas. However, Vanitas sat up within a second, slamming his fist down on the metal floor with a sound that seemed to vibrate the whole area. His next move sent metal shards flying right at Mickey, but he easily dodged it with his short height, retaliating by sending his own shards of ice. Riku struggled to the point where he couldn’t feel his wrists anymore like the shackles were merely an invisible force holding him back. It’s not like he could feel much of anything after his time here. The skill difference between the two was evident. After all, Mickey was a master waterbender and Riku’s teacher. Though Vanitas was at a disadvantage, he had his brute strength and power. As he was pinned down by ice, he kicked a metal spike out of the floor. There wasn’t enough time. Even as Mickey jumped to the side, the edge sliced into his side quickly followed by another right into his shoulder. Xehanort smirked as he backed up into the shadows again. Mickey looked to Riku as blood began to drip down beneath him. With the word from Vanitas, the guards began to spill into the room. 

Riku’s breath grew ragged once he saw blood. He couldn’t focus on it for too long, gritting his teeth as his vision was starting to turn red. No..he couldn’t..he didn’t want this power.

   “Riku..it’ll be alright. Remember the power..the power I told you to never use?” Mickey said softly, turning his head as best he could. 

   “I..I promised you..I promised myself I would never use that. You know how awful it made me feel?” 

   “You have to do..what you think is best. You’re a master now after all. Whatever you choose..I’ll always be proud of you.” Mickey’s voice grew fainter and fainter until his eyes finally closed. 

Riku felt like his heart was being painstakingly pulled from his chest. There were hot tears dripping down his cheeks as a new strength coursed through his body: rage. The guttural scream that came from him was enough to stop the guards in their tracks. 

   “Don’t you dare touch him!” The voice that came out of him was his own, but it was a mix of desperation and sheer anger: anger at Mickey for going in alone and anger at himself for getting caught. His fingers moved about wildly, sticking out in strange angles. With each movement of a finger, the guards cried out in pain as their own limbs were forced to move. All that was moving were their faces as the muscles twitched uncomfortably. It was only by Riku’s movements that their own bodies were allowed to move. With a single wag of his finger, a sharp point shot out from the bit of blood surrounding Mickey, cutting right through the cage bars and cracking one shackle open. His freed arm hung limply for a moment before he repeated the process with the other shackle then the door. With a simple twist of his wrist, the screams from the guards ceased as here was a snap, snap, snap, thud, then silence. Glancing over, Vanitas and Admiral Xehanort were both gone..typical. Stepping over the still bodies of the guards, Riku picked Mickey up as gently as possible. With a silent prayer, he pressed his ear to his chest, sighing in relief at the faint heart beat. Though his arms still shook with rage and adrenaline, he began to walk towards the door with Mickey in his arms. As a guard attempted to run, he was soon held in place as Riku kept his blood still and in his control. 

   “You will free all the waterbenders held prisoner here. If you don’t, I’ll know, and I’ll come back here and finish off every last one of you. Got it?” He only left after he saw that he was unlocking the cells. 

Fresh air. Riku felt like his knees were going to buckle just at feeling the gentle breeze waft past his face. No, he had a job to do. Revelling at the fact that he was finally outside could come later. Right now, his mind was blank with one goal in mind: get Mickey to a village. The aftermath of what he had done could come later. 

Riku ended up leaving Mickey with some healers in a nearby village. They could at least treat his immediate injuries. He looked over Mickey one last time before heading out despite the healers advising they treat him too. As he trudged along a muddy path, he cursed every time his boots got caught in the sludge, having to yank his foot out every now and then. His long hair, which used to flow gracefully down his shoulders, moved about stiffly due to heavy matting and damage from being imprisoned and basically starved. He had scarfed down a bit of food he had gotten from the healers as his adrenaline rush was starting to run out. On and on he went until he came upon a pond which reflected the full moon in the sky almost perfectly. When he couldn’t make his legs move anymore, he knelt by the pond, gazing at the moon reflected in the smooth surface almost like a mirror. Riku clutched at his chest as if to physically feel that his heart was still beating. To him, it felt like a weight was pulling him down towards the water. He felt empty yet heavy at the same time. Since he was finally alone, he let out a parched cry that sent slumbering birds in the trees flying out into the night sky. With a wet thud, his fist pounded at the muddy bank below. Their heartbeats..he could still feel them pounding in his hands from the moment he had claimed control of their bodies. He remembered the moment he took their lives away, feeling their blood run cold. It was all flooding back, and all he could do was scream to try to push them out. His matted hair kept getting in his face again and again until he couldn’t take much more. In one fluid motion of his arm, he shaped the water into a spear like shape, slicing large sections of hair off in a blind rage. Bit by bit, long strands of silver hair floated on the calm surface, creating ripples that disrupted the image of the moon. When he caught a reflection of himself, he splashed it away with a motion of his hand. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried not to feel anything if only for a few seconds, but his thoughts always wavered back to his village: the fire, the panic. He was about to scream again when the air felt..different. There had been a cool breeze, but now it seemed oddly still..warm even. Peeking his eyes open, he was still in front of a pond, but everything was bright like it was the middle of the day. There was an odd blurriness to it as if the images he was seeing weren’t quite real. Riku reached out to touch the water, finding that it did seem like real water; however, nothing happened when he tried to bend it. 

   “Wow, you’re a real wreck, aren’t you?” 

Riku spun around instantly at the tiny voice, fists balled up and ready to throw down. Even if he couldn’t water bend in this strange place, he’d still fight if he had to. He lowered his guard seconds later at seeing a small cat thing gazing up at him. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to seeing something like that. After all, Master Mickey was a walking talking mouse. 

   “Yeah, well, I’ve been through a lot, okay?” Riku said defensively, crossing his arms instead. 

   “Were you just slicing your hair off will nilly? That cut is awful.” The little creature couldn’t help but chuckle, hopping up on a rock near Riku. “Sorry, I’m getting off on the wrong foot here, aren’t I? You can call me Chirithy.” They extended a tiny paw out to Riku. 

   “Oh, uh, I’m Riku..Master Riku. I’m a master waterbender. Nice to meet you?” Riku tentatively shook their tiny paw with his thumb and pointer finger. “So, where am I exactly?” 

   “This is the spirit world. There are many points in your world that intersect with this one. Either, you ended up here by accident, or some spirit wants you here. I’m guessing the latter,” Chirithy said matter of factly. “The moon spirit was doing something earlier. Maybe she brought you here.” 

   “The spirit world, huh? I mean, I knew it existed and all..just seems so weird.” Was the moon spirit looking out for him? Water benders did draw their power from the moon which would explain why the blood bending worked so well for him. 

   “Hey, I know someone who can help you with your horrible haircut. Wait here.” Chirithy didn’t give Riku a chance to respond as they darted away through some bushes and further into the woods. Riku sighed and avoided looking at his own reflection. He wasn’t familiar with this place at all, so he might as well stay put. 

He glanced over when he heard the snap of a twig, seeing a girl around his age walking over. Her short, reddish hair shone against the sun, looking him over with eyes as blue as the sky. 

   “Oh no! What happened to you? You look like you were just in the fight of your life.” Seeing that Riku instantly backed up as she got closer, she kept her distance and knelt down, extending a hand out to him. “There’s no need to worry. You’re safe here. My name is Kairi, and I’m the Avatar.” 

   “And her hair cutting skills are top notch! She can get you fixed up in no time,” Chirithy added, hopping about enthusiastically. 

   “W-wait..you’re the Avatar?” Of course everyone knew the legends, but so far, no one had heard anything about the new Avatar. It was probably better that way. 

   “Yeah, I am. I spend a lot of time here in the spirit world, so that’s why I’m not seen very much.” Kairi patted the ground in front of her. 

Riku was still hesitant, but if she was the Avatar, then there was nothing to fear. Ever so slowly he scooched over so he was sitting in front of her, casting his gaze towards the ground. 

   “I’m Riku by the way.” 

   “Master Riku, right? It’s nice to meet you. I love waterbending. It’s so relaxing.” With a bit of air bending, she started to carefully trim up Riku’s hair. “I hear that things aren’t so great in the physical world.” 

   “You could say that. Scala’s forces are mounting something big. Villages are being raided. If they learn that you’re the Avatar, they’ll come after you too..if you’re really the Avatar that is. I’m still suspicious.” Riku didn’t exactly enjoy talking about this, but she deserved to know what was going on. 

Kairi hummed as she nodded to everything he said, focusing on the task at hand. She did one last cut before giving him a thumbs up. 

   “Go take a look and tell me what you think. I can cut it shorter if you want.” 

Besides the bruises on his face, Riku gave an impressed nod as he looked in the pond. His bangs had been shortened and hair trimmed over all to frame his face with his side fringes neatly cut right along his jawline. With the much shorter length, it stuck up a bit in the back. 

   “I really like it. Thank you. I sorta sliced it off in a fit of rage, but..I’m feeling much calmer in this place. I’d really love to stay, but there are things I need to do.” Riku sighed as he got back on his feet, grimacing at every tiny ache and pain that came with. “I know it’s not my place to say, but the world could really use your help, but whatever you choose to do is up to you.” 

   “Don’t worry. I have my plans, and you have your own path to walk. But before you go, the moon spirit has something for you.” Kairi gestured to the pond where a fish was swimming. The water began to glow brilliantly. Riku nearly had to shield his eyes for a moment. He watched as Kairi collected some of it in a small glass vial before handing it to him. “This should help your master and whoever else needs it.” 

Once Riku had accepted it, she held two fingers to his forehead. “We’ll see each other again soon. I’m sure of it. How about you at least try to stay out of trouble? See you, Master Riku.” 

With a green flash, Riku was surrounded by the darkness of night again. The sudden change in scenery nearly made him fall backwards into the water, sliding a bit in the mud. Running his fingers through his hair, he found it was still trimmed up like in the spirit world. So, that was real after all. The smooth surface of the glass vial was still there as he clenched it in his hand. Without a second thought, Riku took off back towards the village. As usual, some weird magic thing happened to point him in the right direction. Call it luck or whatever, but Riku didn’t mind in the slightest. 


	2. Chapter 2

Riku took off like a thrown spear into the ocean. He splayed both arms out in a sweeping motion as he gracefully glided on the water’s surface. His bending disrupted the water, sending waves splashing on either side of him. South..south was the best way to go. Until he could formulate a plan of his own, the islands to the south were the best place to hide out. His mind was full to bursting with thoughts, but for now, he pushed them all away and focused on the path ahead of him. After he had healed Mickey, Mickey promised he would set out to find the others of Riku’s village. 

   “I just..hope Namine is somewhere safe. I don’t know what Scala is planning, and at this point, I’m fearful of what they’re going to do..what Xehanort is planning. I mean why attack water benders? Is there something we have that they want? Like my blood bending?” Riku cast his gaze down at his own hands that shook slightly. He had taken away lives in an instant with these hands. He hid them beneath his legs, not able to stare at them for too long. It was almost like he could still feel the steady heartbeats in his grasp. 

   “Don’t worry, Riku. I’ll find her and everyone else. I have connections, and I’ll hopefully find out just what’s going on. For now, you should lie low somewhere. I’m sure it won’t take them long to put a bounty on your head.” Mickey placed a paw on his shoulder. 

   “How did this happen? Just yesterday things were peaceful. I was celebrating becoming a master waterbender and showing Namine some of my new techniques. The sun was shining, the smell of food cooking in the air..then it was like I was in a living hell.” Riku hung his head low, trembling slightly. Was this happening elsewhere too to other water benders or maybe other bending groups as well? Part of him told him to fight back, retaliate, make them pay, but he knew Mickey was right. If he ended up getting caught again, he’d be of no help. “I’ll head for the Destiny Islands. I should be able to find an uninhabited one and hide out. Even in the habited ones, there are only small fishing villages full of non benders.” 

Riku ducked underwater whenever a fishing boat came near, bending an air bubble around himself as he continued to shoot through the water with ease. He glanced up and watched the bottom of the boats go coasting right above him, blocking out the sun for a few seconds. It was probably best not to give the fishermen a scare at seeing someone just gliding along the water. Many of these small island communities were rather isolated. They didn’t see many benders. Right now, Riku was envious of their peaceful way of life. Bending was great and gave the bender a special connection to their element, but sometimes he wondered what the world would be like without bending. It may be mostly the same, but it was something he often thought about. 

Once the coast was clear of boats, Riku went back up to the surface, continuing to skim along the water. At this speed, this was probably the closest he could get to flying. He used any waves as ramps, closing his eyes whenever he caught some air before landing back on the water with a splash. He slowed his pace as he started to near a few islands, constantly shifting his eyes around for boats and people. The first few islands had villages on them given away by the docks on the beach. Finally, he came to a small island a good distance away from the others with no signs of habitation so far. Riku stayed cautious as he came up on the beach, stealthily winding his way through trees and brush as he made sure he was truly alone. He finally relaxed once his sweep of the island was done and found no signs of anyone else. Riku sat down on the beach, watching the waves lazily lap the shore as he absentmindedly swirled some water around in the air. So, this was his home now. Riku supposed it wasn’t all bad. There were worse places to hide out in. 

   “Think of it like a vacation..of sorts,” he told himself. 

As his mind started to drift off in the haze of the afternoon sun, the water turned scarlet for a second almost like.. Riku gasped, quickly scrambling backwards away from the water. His heart thumped in his chest as he vehemently shook his head, trying to get himself out of the day dream. It was fine. The water wasn’t blood..it was fine. His hands were trembling again in the sand. Riku clenched his fists in an attempt to stop the shaking. Blood bending..what a horrible gift. He held their lives palms of his hands. With it, he could turn anyone into a puppet and end their lives in an instant. Anyone else would feel power. He could almost hear the old masters’ praise, but all Riku felt was dread. Why would anyone want something like that? 

   “I’m a monster.” Riku drew his knees up to his chest, hugging his legs tightly as he rested his chin. His eyes focused on the horizon as distant fishing boats went by. Perhaps he deserved this isolation..even with that power, it’s not something water benders should use. Water bending was supposed to be gentle yet fierce, healing. 

As the sky darkened and turned into night, Riku put together some wood, using some flint he found in the inner part of the island to spark a flame. He supposed, in this situation, being a fire bender would come in handy. The night breeze was cool and relaxing: a nice contrast from the heat of the day. Still, after a while, Riku had started to shiver and stuck close to the tiny fire. His bending made it easy to get food, simply forming a bubble around any fish he saw and dragging them out. After gathering some sticks, he had a few cooking over the flames. This life wasn’t so bad so far. There were plenty of fish to eat in the shallow waters by the island, and when he got tired of that, there was fruit in the forest. As he gazed up at the moon looming over him in the sky, he wondered why the moon spirit had decided to have pity on him. Surely, the moon had never intended blood bending to be a thing. She should’ve struck him down, punished him, something of that sort, and yet, she had gifted him the healing water: a most precious gift. Riku closed his eyes as he basked in the moonlight, feeling its energy run through his veins. 

It was easy to lose track of time on the island. Days and nights seemed to meld together after a while. Using a stick, Riku had drawn a sun dial into the sand in hopes that he might be able to keep track of time somewhat. He was pretty sure he had been here for more than a week now. He bided the time by exploring the island, finding the remnants of a long dead volcano during one of his expeditions. He often meditated both under the sun and the moon. The pure rush and power he had felt when blood bending was slowly beginning to fade, though he often still had nightmares about it every now and then. Even with this peaceful life, his thoughts often wandered to his old village and Namine, praying they were alright. That twinge of guilt surfaced again. He was sitting on this island while who knows what was happening in the world outside. No, he still had some recovering to do. When these thoughts came up, he went to training himself, practicing new moves he hadn’t gotten the chance to perfect yet. With a deep breath, he relaxed his arms and moved them in a wave like motion, pushing and pulling the water with them. Water was patient and gentle. He had to ebb and flow just like the water. 

   “Woah!” 

The voice coming out of nowhere instantly made Riku tense up as the blob of water he was moving around drizzled onto the sand below. He was completely frozen for a moment before finally turning around. There was someone standing just outside the forest: tanned skin, sandy brown hair, and eyes as blue as the sky. In a different scenario, Riku would think he was..pretty cute, but right now, he kept his guard up, taking a few steps back. 

   “Oh, wait! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Riku was just about to turn around and jump right into the ocean when the guy came running up, though he stopped before he got too close. “I’ve just never seen water bending before. Sorry, I shouldn’t have been spying on you.” He held his hand out to Riku with an honest smile. “I’m Sora.” 

Riku glanced between Sora’s face and his outstretched hand, squinting his eyes at him. What was his angle? This could either be a blissfully unaware islander or someone who was hiding their true intentions. Riku nodded at him, but kept his hands behind his back. 

   “Um, I’m Riku..” His words drifted off. Why did he just say his name? This could be very bad. Sora still grinned at him, looking like he had just seen the most beautiful thing in the world. 

   “Nice to meet you, Riku! So, have you been on this island by yourself?” He noted the traces of a fire in the sand. The ash had blackened the one spot Riku always used. 

   “Uh, yeah. I’m sort of trying to stay away from people.” Riku stayed exactly where he was, keeping a close eye on Sora in case he tried anything. There was plenty of water around if he needed to use it. 

   “Aw, that sounds awfully lonely. Did something happen? Out here in the islands, we don’t get much news about what’s happening with the other nations.” From Riku’s rigid stance, Sora could tell he was apprehensive, so he took a seat a little ways away from him. “There aren’t any benders out here. Well, besides my friend. It was a pretty big deal. She ended up being the avatar and venturing out to train.” 

Riku raised his eyebrows in realization. That must’ve been her: the one he met in the Spirit World. 

   “You seem rather comfortable talking to some stranger on an island who could kill you in an instant.” Riku had no business talking to him, but with that face, he sighed and took a seat, though he still kept his distance. 

   “Haha, I guess that’s true, but you don’t seem like the type to just take me out like that. I always want to talk to the benders that pass through here. You’re the first one in a while.” Sora sifted some sand through his fingers, glancing up at Riku every now and then. 

   “Hmph, you’re one nosy islander, but..I guess I could use some company. I’ve been in my own head for a while.” Riku still wasn’t sure what to make of Sora, but he seemed harmless enough. Since he wasn’t a bender, he wasn’t much of a threat to him. 

   “Glad I decided to drop by, then. So, how good are you at water bending? You seemed to have really good control over that blob of water you were moving around.” 

   “I’m a master waterbender, actually. I recently earned that rank.” Riku nearly started laughing at the look of pure awe on Sora’s face. He wasn’t going to divulge any serious information to him, but maybe this will be fun..to talk to someone for once. 


	3. Chapter 3

The days on the island were a tad less lonely with Sora stopping by nearly everyday. Riku didn’t even need to open his eyes during meditation since he could hear Sora yelling everytime he was approaching on boat. It was strange how used he was getting to his presence. It was..nice to have someone to talk to about random stuff. Whenever Riku practiced his bending forms, Sora would mimic his movements. It reminded him of what Namine used to do when Riku trained. 

   “You remind me a lot of my little sister,” Riku laughed as Sora was trying his best to mirror the wave like motions with his arms. 

   “You have a little sister? Is she as pretty as you?” Sora asked frankly. Riku had to do a double take to be sure he wasn’t just joking. He quickly turned his head the other way as he felt a heat creeping up on his cheeks. Why’d he have to stare at him with those big blue eyes? 

   “Uh, I guess? Her name is Namine, and she can’t water bend like everyone else could in my village, but that didn’t stop her from trying. She had the movements down pat from watching me. She’d definitely be close to being a master if she could water bend.” Riku clenched his fist thinking about her. Was she safe? Was she getting sleep? She better not be worried sick about him. “You..think I’m pretty?” 

   “Oh, uh, yeah! Handsome, I guess I should say. People in my village say I’m too honest for my own good,” Sora laughed off his nerves. It didn’t help that Riku actually giggled. It was quiet and soft, but it sounded so whimsical and cute like the sound of windchimes by the beach. 

Waves crashing on the shore and the cawing of seagulls filled the silence between them. Riku awkwardly sifted the sand through his fingers, feeling the course grains rub against his skin. Focusing on the forest, he got up with a grunt, dusting himself off. 

   “Well, I spotted a small waterfall in the forest. I probably stink pretty bad, huh?” At this point, Riku didn’t even bother smelling himself because he didn’t want to know especially after all that he had been through. He could still feel the salt from the ocean in his hair. 

   “Oh, sure. Do you want me to come with or?” Sora certainly didn’t really care about privacy all that much, but it might be different for Riku. 

   “You can do what you want. I need to clean myself up.” 

Riku wondered why it seemed so easy to talk to Sora. Talk for too long, and he might start spilling secrets by accident. He had to keep reminding himself that he was still practically a stranger..a rather nice looking, happy stranger. Riku remained aware of his surroundings as he ventured into the forest, having to carefully step over vines and thorny plants. He was glad to be wearing pants, not sure how Sora wandered in here with shorts. Despite the small size of the island, it still astonished him at how easily he could get turned around in here. After some wandering, he finally picked up on the sound of running water, following that sound until he came to a pool of water accompanied by a waterfall. Steep rocks climbed up to the peak of the island with water cascading down and crashing into the pond below. This area wasn’t altogether unfamiliar. After all, it was where he was getting his drinking water. Turning his head to and fro, Riku made sure he was completely alone before starting to shed off his clothes. He hardly wanted to look at his body, already spotting scars and bruises from his imprisonment. Dark rings lined his wrists and ankles from resisting against the shackles. Skinnier..he was definitely skinnier too, but he at least still had a good amount of muscle. He had been in his own head for so long during that whole ordeal. What his body had looked like hadn’t mattered at the time. Avoiding staring at himself for too long, Riku moved his arms in gentle motions as he walked across the water with grace, sticking to the balls of his feet. Ripples cascaded out from his steps, disturbing the mirrored surface of the water near the edge of the pool. 

His body went rigid as soon as he moved under the waterfall: cold water hammering against his skin. Though his teeth chattered and convulsions of shivering plagued his limbs, Riku took deep breaths in an attempt to relax. He focused on rinsing himself off, already feeling refreshed as he had felt caked in dirt and sand. Part of him wanted to hang onto a life like this. Here, it was like an oasis far away from all the shit happening elsewhere. The sounds of both the birds and the leaves of trees singing in harmony were all around him and throughout the whole island. Would it be so bad to just..stay here? Sora’s company was nice and enough interaction to keep him from going utterly insane and alone with his thoughts. No..his village. They needed him. Scala was up to something. With a sigh, Riku pushed that fantasy out of his mind. 

   “Hey, Master Riku! I brought some soap and fragrance stuff if you want.” 

Hearing Sora’s voice so close by was like suddenly getting struck by lightning. Riku’s body went rigid again as he whipped his head over in the direction of the voice, and to his horror, saw Sora standing right at the edge of the pool staring right at him. Riku was painfully aware of how naked he was now. He quickly covered his own eyes even though Sora himself had his shorts on at least and raised his other hand up, bringing a small wall of water up between them. 

   “Sora! I’m not wearing any clothes! Why’d you just walk up like that?” His face felt like it was practically on fire, keeping a hand over his eyes. 

   “Sorry, I didn’t think it was a big deal! We’re both guys, and it’s kind of a common thing on my island.” Sora instantly covered his eyes at Riku’s reaction. He supposed not everyone was comfortable with nudity. 

   “Well, uh, I like my privacy, okay?” He lowered the wall of water once he saw Sora had covered his eyes. It was fine. He probably didn’t see anything. 

Sora chanced a peek through his fingers, gasping softly. Dark splotches, signs of scars, and how visible his ribs were..just what had he been through? 

   “Are you looking at me?” 

   “No! Uh, I’ll leave the soaps here. Sorry!” Sora nearly fell over at the sudden voice since that had been exactly what he was doing. He dropped the items, turned around, and ran out of there as fast as he could. 

Riku couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at how fast Sora ran out of there. He sighed as he looked down at his body again. Thanks to eating on the island, he had managed to gain back some weight, but it still could be better. He promised himself that as soon as he was back to full strength, he’d set out and find Namine and the others. 

He stayed under the waterfall until he could hardly stand the cold water anymore after using some of the soap, teeth chattering as he went back to his clothes. He raised an eyebrow at the towel Sora had left along with some fresh clothes: pants like Sora’s that came up to his knees along with a tank top. Fuck it, knowing Sora so far, he probably had snuck a peek. It wasn’t like he could do much to hide the bruises along his wrists and arms anyway. He took the time to soak his old clothes in the water, wrinkling his nose when he sniffed them. They’d dry in no time under the sun anyway. 

When he returned to the beach, he found Sora and his little boat gone. The imprints of footprints led off to the ocean. Riku felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Maybe he had scared him off. He kicked at the sand, taking a seat under a palm tree. Why did it matter? It’s not like they knew each other that well. Dumb Sora with his dumb smile and dumb acts of kindness to a complete stranger who could behead him with a blade of water. Riku kicked at the sand again. Focusing his gaze on the horizon, he tried his best to relax. The ocean was practically sparkling under the intense light from the sun. Out there..somewhere..was his family and the other water benders. 

Riku perked his head when he heard a paddle against the water. He was met by Sora coming back on his boat waving at him. He half heartedly waved back with that guilty feeling still hovering over his head. He noticed Sora’s eyes darting to the bruises on his wrists for a quick second before quickly focusing on his face. From how Riku had snapped at him earlier, Sora didn’t want to piss him off further. Riku sniffed at the air: spices, cooked food. He noticed the basket Sora was carrying. So far, his diet had mostly consisted of smoked fish and coconuts. 

   “What did you bring?” he asked, patting the spot next to him. Sora instantly lit up at the gesture, happily taking a seat. 

   “Well, my village makes a lot of food for dinners, like a lot more than I can eat, so I brought you some leftovers. You probably can’t do a lot of complicated cooking out here.” Sora uncovered the food, and Riku could’ve died happily right there just from the tantalizing smells. 

   “You..saw my body, didn’t you?” Riku gave a slight grin, hoping to show he wasn’t pissed. 

   “Uh, w-well, it’s not like I did it on purpose.” Even though he totally did. “You don’t have to tell me anything. You’ve been through a lot, but good food can help a lot of things.” 

With a sad face like that, there was no way Riku could possibly stay mad at him. “That’s true. It does.” He gingerly took one of the grilled bananas, humming as he ate it. He tried his best not to just scarf it down. “The world outside..isn’t a great place right now. I’m trying to gain my strength back, so I can go out there and do something.” 

   “I can help! If you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty active. I could be like your coach..I mean, you’re still a master don’t get me wrong.” 

Riku playfully elbowed him, giggling again: the same giggle that Sora loved to hear. 

   “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. I can still kick your ass.” 

The two of them spread out the blanket, setting the various dishes down on it. Riku tried his best to control himself and not start crying from eating actual food with seasoning and everything. As he easily ate one of the spiciest dishes, Sora admired him as he munched on an orange. 

   “Wow, that one is way too spicy for me. I can only eat like a few bites.” 

   “Ha, wimp. I used to eat wild spicy peppers that grew by my village for fun,” Riku teased, sending a wink his way. 

   “Well, we can’t all be you.” Sora stuck his tongue out indignantly even though there was a grin stuck to his face. 

As sunset started to set in, Riku set up a fire, relaxing by it with a full stomach. He covered his mouth as a burp escaped from him quickly followed by an even louder one from Sora. A calm breeze from the ocean blew past, tossling their hair and sending sparks of embers from the fire flying up into the indigo sky. Riku was going to miss this kind of peace where he didn’t have to worry about being attacked or always having to be on guard. 

A vibration. Riku used his arms to sit up, firmly planting his hands in the sand. Yeah, it was definitely there. He squinted out at the open sea, trying to spot something..anything. The vibrations from the ground were growing and growing. Riku gulped at the idea of what could be causing them. 


	4. Chapter 4

   “Move!” 

Acting on instinct as the rumbling was getting worse, Riku shoved Sora to the side, though that didn’t give him time to dodge as a pillar of rock jutted out from the sand. The force sent Riku flying, slamming him into the rough trunk of a palm tree. He coughed and sputtered, gasping for air. Clutching at his chest, he glared up at the figure standing on top of the new pillar when he heard a laugh all too familiar to him. 

   “Hahaha, oh I finally found you. Do you know how many damn islands I had to comb through?” Vanitas slid down from the rock with grace. Pulling out a few metal balls from his pocket, he crushed them in his hand, creating sheets of armor that attached to his arm. He made a punching motion with the armored hand. 

   “Vanitas..we don’t have to fight. I know you know what Xehanort is doing isn’t right,” Riku muttered once he somewhat caught his breath. Patting the ground, he felt for the trunk of the tree, pulling himself up. 

   “Hey! Leave Riku alone!” Sora had no idea who this was, but he wasn’t going to Riku fight this guy alone. Without a second thought, Sora started bolting right for him with fists drawn. Even if he hadn’t known Riku for that long, he cherished their time together, and he wasn’t going to let some random earthbender take him away. 

   “Pff, get out of my sight, worm.” With one punching motion, Vanitas sent Sora flying into the forest with with a rock to his stomach. “Now, where were we?” 

Riku just barely dodged the armored fist as it collided with the tree’s trunk with a sickening crack. He kept his cyan eyes trained on those wild yellow ones as he quickly backed up towards the water. With fluid motions of his arms, Riku drew snake like forms of water around him. Clenching his fist, he turned a few to ice and launched them at Vanitas. Vanitas only laughed as he ducked and dodged out of the way, shattering a few as he sent rocks and sand flying at back at Riku. Some of the grains of sand scraped against his eyes, causing him to have to cover his face with his arm and trying his best to water bend with the other. A fist to his stomach let him know exactly where Vanitas was, sending a torrent of water his way while he doubled over. A sharp kick to his face sent him tumbling. Even though Riku could taste blood in his mouth, he made himself get up. His malnourishment during his imprisonment really had taken a number on his body. Usually, hits like this would barely phase him, but his whole body shook from exhaustion, vision blurry from the assault of sand. 

   “You know, this place gives us both advantages. You have plenty of water to work with, but this island is also all rock. There are even bits of metal in the sand for me to use, and you’re out of practice, Master Riku,” Vanitas chuckled, slowly circling around him. “My orders didn’t specify what kind of shape you needed to be in, so I’m gonna have some fun.” 

   “Why are you doing this, Vanitas? I know you don’t think this is right. Xehanort’s making you, isn’t he? You’re his little toy he can break over and over again. You’re useful to him until you can’t be wound up again, right?” Riku spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the sand below in crimson. 

   “Ohoho, you better watch what you say,  _ blood bender _ .” With an uplifted fist, sand swirled around Vanitas in a swirling motion. Maybe pissing him off wasn’t the best strategy, but it was worth a shot. With a deep breath, Riku relaxed his muscles. There was no way a water bender could contend with this if they were tense. He had to be calm and go with the flow like the waves of the ocean. 

   “Bring it on, little puppet.” 

With a scream from Vanitas, the sand storm came rushing at him along with Vanitas himself. In one movement, Riku brought up a wall of water, catching most of the sand, but even that didn’t stop Vanitas who was coming at him like a charging bull. As he turned, the fist of armor landed a hit in the middle of his back, sending him flying into the ocean. From the force, Riku skipped along the surface a few times before submerging completely. By now, any kind of pain just felt numbing to him. He watched the surface get farther and farther away as he began to sink. Many times, this was where he’d be to collect his thoughts: in the darkness of the depths. Air bubbles circled around each other as they made the journey to the surface. With a final nod to himself, Riku formed a swirling vortex of water around himself. The sound of rushing water whooshed past his ears. He was going to end this once and for all. He was never going to be imprisoned again. 

   “Hmph, looks like I have to drag him out of there,” Vanitas huffed. He scanned the water to see any signs of Riku surfacing. With a splash, something emerged from the water. A spinning vortex erratically moved about here and there. After a few seconds, it began to take shape, turning more serpentine until it resembled a dragon, looming over Vanitas. Riku gasped for air as he broke the surface on its head. 

   “You wanted a fight, Vanitas? Well, I’ll show you what a master waterbender can do.” Out of all his years of training, his water dragon move was by far the one he was most proud of. With the movement of his arms, the dragon opened its mouth. Vanitas only smiled, getting into a squatting earth bending pose. 

   “Bring it, then.” 

Just as Riku was about to launch what he called a “water bomb,” he paused as he noticed some round object fly up from the forest where Sora had been launched. Sora..he hoped he was alright. He seemed like a pretty sturdy guy. Both him and Vanitas glanced up as there was a squeak that pierced through the air. With no warning, some round blue thing came rocketing down from the sky, landing right onto Vanitas. The water dragon began to collapse as Riku’s arms went rigid in pure shock and confusion. What the..actual fuck just happened. Riku launched himself through the water and back onto shore to find some dog..cat..blue creature wagging its tail as it got off of Vanitas who was now lying unconscious in the sand. 

   “Phew, looks like I made it just in time!” At the sound of his voice, Riku finally noticed Sora sitting on the creature who was bobbing up and down happily. “Thanks for helping us, Meow Wow.” Meow Wow squeaked again as Sora pat their head. 

   “Sora..what..the actual fuck..” Riku felt like he was dreaming, still trying to process what just happened and wanting to burst out laughing at the fact that Vanitas had gotten taken out by that thing at the same time. 

   “Oh, Meow Wow is a spirit that I talk to. I can talk to a lot of spirits, and they show up when I need help.” Sora quickly walked over, placing his hands on Riku’s shoulders since it looked like he was about to fall over. “Are you okay? Geez, he beat you up badly.” A bit of blood still dripped from Riku’s mouth. Sora wiped it away with the gentlest touch. 

   “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. But..thanks for the rescue. Probably wasn’t the best idea to piss Vanitas off. I think that just makes him more powerful.” Without a second thought, Riku took the rope from Sora boat. “Drag him over to a tree, would you?” Sora was hesitant at first, not sure if this Vanitas guy was just going to wake up as soon as he touched him. Mustering some courage, he carefully slid his hands under his shoulders, dragging him through the sand to a nearby palm tree and sitting him up against the trunk. 

   “Hey, he kind of looks like me, doesn’t he?” Sora glanced over him curiously. How strange it was. 

   “I guess. But he’s nothing like you in personality.” Riku meticulously began to tie him up, ensuring his arms and legs were tied tight enough where he wouldn’t be able to move them to earth or metal bend. 

   “What if he’s like..my brother or something?” Sora knelt down to help Riku out with a few knots. 

   “Wouldn’t you know if you had a brother? Besides, he’s the enemy. You saw how ruthless he was.” Riku continued to tighten the ropes. There was no way he was even going to give him a sliver of a chance of escaping. 

   “I don’t know..maybe we were separated at birth I mean, who knows? So, what are we going to do with him exactly? I don’t think he’s going to go with us willingly.” As he watched him sleep, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at seeing the peaceful look on his face. 

   “I don’t know. I think Xehanort has thoroughly brainwashed him. He might be beyond saving,” Riku sighed, rubbing at the sore spot on his stomach. 

   “Well, I don’t believe anyone is beyond saving. We’ll figure something out.” 

As Riku gazed out at the sky, it was clear blue all around. It seemed it was going to be another lazy island day which was exactly what he needed after all of this. 

   “I need a nap after all of this. I’m going to the cave. It looks like the weather is going to be fine, so we can just leave Vanitas here.” Riku didn’t wait for an answer as he was already heading into the forest, not giving Sora much of a choice but to follow him. It had been obvious from their banter that Riku and Vanitas somewhat knew each other, but..now probably wasn’t the best time to ask about that. Riku breathed a sigh of relief once he was in the cool shade of the cave, carefully lying down on the palm leaf mat he had made for himself. Sora took the one on the other side. 

   “You can go back to your island, Sora. All I’m going to be doing is sleeping.” Riku already knew what the answer was going to be. It was the same every time. 

   “No, I like spending time with you. Plus, I gotta help you with Vanitas when he inevitably wakes up,” Sora said firmly, turning to face Riku. 

Riku only nodded in defeat. By now, he knew it was useless to argue with Sora, and he really didn’t have the energy for that currently. A comfortable silence settled between them as they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Riku’s sleep was more out of pure exhaustion. Lying down, he could feel every ache of his muscles and joints, but it all faded into the background as he fell into a deep sleep. 

A myriad of rumbling that nearly shook the cave accompanied by flashes of light jolted Sora out of his sleep. The world outside was dim with the sun gone, replaced by sheets of rain. 

   “A storm? But it was so nice out earlier,” Sora mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. Part of him wanted to just go back to sleep, but a thought struck through his mind as quick and brilliant as the lightning outside. Vanitas. He was still tied to the tree and exposed to the storm. It looked like Riku was still sound asleep, so Sora made himself get up, not thinking much as he sprinted out of the cave and into the pouring rain. 

Vanitas struggled against the ropes, now soaking wet and rubbing into his skin. The tree creaked and swayed about in the blustering winds and rain. He coughed and sputtered as the rain hit him relentlessly, hardly able to swallow as his throat burned. Was this some kind of sick punishment? Those fucking assholes were going to pay for this, but the more he struggled, the more it felt like he was going to die out here as rain flooded his mouth whenever he opened it. Squinting his eyes, he could see the silhouette of someone approaching. Did those two idiots finally have the sense to remember he was here? If he ever got free, they better pray to the spirits. 

As the person got closer, he saw that it was that islander that had tried to intervene. Was he responsible for knocking him out too? He remembered something big landing on him before everything went dark. 

   “What the fuck do you want?” he spat as Sora stood over him. There was still that wild look in his yellow eyes, trying to keep that intent to kill there even if he was thoroughly drenched. 

   “I came to get you out of this storm. You could die from exposure, you know. You wouldn’t stand a chance if lightning strikes this tree.” Sora glanced up at the dark sky above, watching the clouds illuminate with flashes of light. 

   “You know I could definitely kill you in seconds as soon as you untie me, right? I only need Riku alive.” Vanitas’ stare softened some at the mention of lightning. 

   “Sure. And you could’ve killed me back during the fight too but you didn’t. I’m only going to untie you if you promise you’ll behave and cooperate with Riku and me.” 

Vanitas glanced behind Sora as he noticed a rather large shadowy figure appearing there. Eyes as yellow as his own stared back at him. What the hell..was this guy? The intent to kill wasn’t coming from him, but that colossus just behind him. With a snarl, Vanitas finally hung his head in defeat. He didn’t want to find out what that thing was nor did he want to die from a fucking storm. 

   “Fine. I promise.” 

Sora grinned, kneeling down and using a small knife to cut the ropes. It was rather comical to Vanitas just how trusting he was in a simple promise. A promise was just words, wasn’t it? Was he even aware of the thing looming behind him, but when Vanitas looked again, it was gone. 


	5. Chapter 5

Riku blinked a few times as he heard Sora walking back into the cave. He felt like he had slept for a whole day, groaning as he made himself sit up with shaky arms. Yeah, his ribs were definitely bruised, reminding himself to use the healing water he had left. Upon seeing Vanitas with Sora, Riku immediately backed up in a frenzy, flinching as his bruised up back hit the stone wall behind him. 

   “Woah, careful, Riku!” Sora was by his side in an instant, holding his hand with the gentlest touch to help him off the wall. 

   “Wow, why don’t you two get married already?” Vanitas laughed, nonchalantly walking over to the opposite side, shaking his head and splattering the other two with water. 

   “Well, that’s, I..” Riku pointed a shaky finger at him, face flaring up at the teasing. “What are you even doing here?” 

   “Ah, the ever so poised master waterbender getting flustered at the mention of his very obvious crush,” Vanitas chuckled, crossing his legs. It was ridiculously easy to push his buttons. 

By now, Sora’s face was just as red as Riku, still holding his hand slightly. “Well, um, he was out there in the storm. A bolt of lightning might’ve struck the tree he was tied to, or he’d just die from exposure, so I made him promise me to behave.” 

   “Haha, you can’t possibly believe he’s being sincere. He only ‘promised’ you to save his own skin. He’ll probably kidnap me in my sleep. Trust me. I had to deal with this brat the whole time I was imprisoned.” Riku glared at Vanitas who combated it with a glare of his own. “You don’t look so formidable now, more like a drowned rat.” 

   “Say that again, bitch. I dare you.” 

Sora scooched over to sit between them. Maybe it’d be less likely they’ll kill each other if he acted like a buffer. Despite how rude he was, he couldn’t help but feel some kind of connection to Vanitas. It was like a fragile string, invisible yet tangible like he could reach out and touch it. 

   “Whether you guys like it or not, Vanitas is stuck with us now. You wouldn’t break our promise, right?” Vanitas scowled at the sweet smile Sora gave him, knowing the threat behind it. He shivered as he remembered that..thing that appeared behind Sora. Though the sheets of rain had distorted it, the power was overwhelming. 

   “Yeah, yeah, Mr. Sunshine.” Vanitas waved dismissively before lying over on his side to face away from them. The dampness of the cave started to hang over him like a wet cloth as he started to shiver. A few minutes later, Sora got a fire started to at least warm them up a bit. Not really thinking much about it, he cozied up to Riku just to get warm. Riku’s heart could’ve stopped right there. It was strange just how close they had gotten in the few weeks he had been here. Clearing his throat, he slowly wrapped an arm around him. It was just to get warm..after all. 

   “I trust you, Sora, but I wouldn’t touch him with a five foot pole.” Riku nodded over to Vanitas. 

   “I can hear you, asshole,” Vanitas mumbled back. 

   “He just needs some love and friends. You’ll see. If you trust me, then you have to trust my decisions too,” Sora said softly, nuzzling his face against Riku as he was on the verge of falling asleep. 

Riku gulped, feeling his heart flutter just at that tiny gesture. Sora really was trying to kill him, wasn’t he? 

   “Fair.” Riku was never any good with feelings like this. When it came to stuff like this, he was..a mess to say the least. 

   “You know..I feel safe when I’m with you.” Sora peeked one eye open but closed it a second later. 

   “Oh, r-really?” What was happening? Riku chanced a little squeeze to Sora’s shoulder. 

   “Yeah, you have a strong heart and resolve. When I tried to confront Vanitas earlier, it’s something I probably would’ve never done before. These islands are peaceful. I hadn’t known conflict, but you were in trouble. I knew I had to do something. I wanted to help. You gave me the courage even if I did end up getting launched into the forest.” Riku laughed along with him, making him feel a bit more relaxed. 

   “Gods, you guys are gonna make me puke,” Vanitas whined indignantly. 

   “Go to sleep then,” Riku barked back. “I have a strong heart, huh? That kind of acted against me when I was in training. I’d go head first into everything which often got me in trouble. My master said my acts of bravery could end up getting me hurt, but it could also give me the resolve to keep going when everything seems hopeless. He often called me the nickname, Braveheart. Now, it’s seen as an admirable trait, but I can still hear him saying ‘just don’t be reckless.’” 

   “Braveheart..it suits you,” Sora chuckled with a sleepy sigh. “I know this sounds childish, but..could you tell me a story? It could be anything: like from your time in training for me to go to sleep to.” 

Riku searched his memories for something Sora would enjoy. He did have as many joyful memories as he did sad ones. Maybe..a bittersweet one? 

   “Well, I’m not the best story teller, but I’ll try my best. Do you know of the great war that happened not that long ago?” Riku recalled what he had heard from his master, and the boy he had met from that forgotten time. 

   “I’ve heard pieces of stories. The nations used to be separated by what type of bender you were. There was a conquest for power between them. It ended when the last avatar ended up sacrificing themselves. In sorrow and finally seeing the consequences of their actions, the nations forged peace agreements. Now, they’re mixed up with all sorts of benders all living together. The final peace agreement was made in Scala ad Caelum: a new city that would symbolize peace between the nations and all benders,” Sora recited as he recalled the story. 

   “Right, I suppose the avatar’s sacrifice was the only way to open everyone's’ eyes unfortunately. The war wrought many casualties on all sides. Waterbenders especially were working overtime to heal the wounded since we were some of the closest to the spirits, specifically the moon spirit. I was younger when a boy a bit younger than me was brought into the village. His clothes were soaked with blood, and he was near death. Somehow, the little strength he had left brought him to our village before he collapsed. He had dark hair caked with dust and blood. The elders were doubtful that anything could be done, but we still had faith. On the night when the full moon took up most of the sky, he was brought to a spiritual pool that encaptured the image of the moon perfectly. It was a pool we used for healing, and when the moon is full like that, we are closest to the moon spirit, and our waterbending is at its peak.” Riku paused for a moment, hands shaking as he remembered the power all too well the night he blood bended. “We gently lowered the boy into the pool, illuminated by the moon’s pale light. All night, we prayed to the moon spirit to heal the boy while the healers did what they could. At midnight, nothing seemed to be helping. His breathing was shallow and labored. Just as we were about to lose hope, the water shone brightly to the point where it was actually glowing. In the pool, a brilliant white koi fish circled around the boy. That’s when we all knew we were in the presence of the moon spirit herself. I watched as all the injuries on him closed up, and the light washed over his hair. As the moon spirit left, the boy’s hair shone a brilliant silver under the moon’s light similar to my own. As the water was dark once again, we all jumped as the boy suddenly woke up, emerald green eyes gazing at all of us. It was a miracle to say the least. Before the boy left, I learned that his name was Ephemer. I haven’t seen him since then, but I hope he’s doing alright after that horrible war. For children to be used as soldiers..I can’t even fathom it.” 

Sora stayed quiet for a moment as he was on the verge of falling asleep. “Ephemer, huh? I wonder what it was like..having to fight in a war as a child and not even really know what you’re fighting for. I hope he’s okay too. You said the moon spirit turned his hair silver? Maybe the moon spirit helped you too like when you were a baby or something? Or..maybe you’re like the moon spirit reincarnated.” 

   “Sora, if that were true, then I would’ve been the one to heal him, right?” To be honest, it was a thought that had always bothered him. 

   “Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, thanks for the story. If I venture out with you, maybe we’ll get to meet Ephemer.” 

Riku was about to answer but paused when he heard Sora starting to snore softly. 

   “Maybe so, Sora.” 

It took Sora and Riku a few days to prepare for heading out, much to Vanitas’ dismay as he was stuck with them now. He mostly stayed off on the beach brooding as they gathered up supplies and a larger boat from Sora’s island. Though he had a mission, it was nice to be away from Xehanort and the constant pressure. He could at least have some fun teasing Riku. 

   “Are you guys finally done or what?” He sneered at them as he watched them set the boat up, making no attempt to help whatsoever. 

   “Yeah, we’re just about set,” Sora answered as he was checking the sails. 

   “No thanks to you,” Riku followed up. 

Discussing plans with Sora, Riku figured Traverse Town was the best place to start. Countless travelers and merchants passed through there, making it a great place to gather information. It’d be a nice little town to get Sora used to the big wide world outside his islands. 

   “Think we should like get a leash for Vanitas or something? I just know he’s gonna run off the second we get there.” Riku took a moment to glare back at the smug smirk. 

   “Don’t worry. I know he won’t. He made a promise, and that promise is what’ll bind him to us.” 

   “Geez, you really have a lot of faith in this promise, huh?” From his own experience, Riku didn’t trust Vanitas for a second, but when Sora decided something, there wasn’t much he could do. “Whatever. I guess I’ll have to deal with him.” 

As the sun was high in the sky, the three of them finally set out. Thanks to Riku’s water bending, he easily propelled the boat through the water, not needing to worry about the winds. Sora happily sat right at the head of the ship, closing his eyes as he felt the cool wind and spray from the ocean. Just beyond the horizon, there was a whole world out there for him to see. In that moment, there was no fear in his heart. 


	6. Chapter 6

Gentle waves lapped at the sides of the boat as they continued their course towards Traverse Town. Riku had Sora unfurl the sails to give his arms a break. He had been moving them constantly for over an hour to waterbend them through the water. With a sigh he sat down, leaning against the side. He squinted his eyes up at the sun glaring down at them harshly. This was why he preferred the moonlight. It was much less oppressive. 

   “I’m hungryyy,” Vanitas whined as he had his legs propped up on a crate, side eying Riku. 

   “Oh, I brought food. Hold on.” Sora went over to one of the boxes he had packed up. 

   “You don’t have to be nice to him, Sora. He certainly hasn’t earned it,” Riku sighed. He really should’ve just tossed him into the ocean. Now they had to deal with this brat. 

   “I think you’ll find a little bit of kindness goes a long way.” 

   “Yeah, Riku, maybe you should try it sometime.” 

That smug look..Riku clenched his fist. Vanitas knew in this situation he could get away with being a brat. 

   “This is a fruit that’s native to my island: the Paopu fruit. There’s a legend behind them that says if people eat it together, their destinies will be intertwined,” Sora said as he gave him one of the star shaped fruits. 

   “Yeah, well, you can get your own. You won’t catch me getting tied to you for eternity.” Vanitas took it nonchalantly, though he could hardly hide the look of bliss at the sweet taste of the fruit. Sora munched on his own one, taking a seat next to Riku. He wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead from moving around and working the sails. Riku stared at the fruit curiously. Surely, it was just a legend, right? It wasn’t actually real. Of course, many of the spirits were legends, and they were certainly real. He nearly made a sound as Sora offered the Paopu he had already taken a bit out of to Riku. 

   “You want some?” 

   “Oh, uh..I’m okay. Thanks though,” he said quickly, feeling a flash of heat across his face. Did he just do that on purpose? Sora simply shrugged and continued eating. 

   “We should get you a new outfit in Traverse Town, Vanitas. You have to be pretty hot in that armor, and it’s..” 

   “Ugly,” Riku added with a smug smirk, staring daggers at Vanitas. 

   “You wanna fucking say that again?” There was a fire to his yellow eyes, ready to throw down right there. 

   “It’s ugly,” Riku stated again. “If you’re stuck with us, then you have to dress so you won’t stand out so much. Everyone will know your Xehanort’s lackey with that get up, and we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.” 

   “Speak for yourself, silver hair. Besides, couldn’t you use that to your advantage. I mean, I thought you were at least decent at tactics.” Vanitas continued to stare him down as he ate, fluttering his eyelashes. 

Riku paused for a moment and took in his words. He was..actually right. “You’re saying that we should say we’re your prisoners that you’re transporting or something? I mean..that actually is a good idea. It would keep Scala’s forces off our backs. But I still think you need an actual outfit.” 

   “Yeah! You deserve to wear something you like. I mean, have you ever picked out your own clothes before?” Sora added. He knew next to nothing about this Xehanort guy, but being forced to wear armor like that sounded awful. 

   “I..well, I always have to wear this.” Vanitas paused a moment. Picking out clothes he liked..it did sound nice. “I guess I could do that, but I’ll still say you two are my prisoners. I’ll wear the emblem so people know.” 

   “I think you’ll find looser clothing will help improve your earth and metal bending forms.” Riku did feel somewhat sorry for him. Being around Xehanort so much..no wonder he acted the way he did. Maybe they could offer him a freedom he hadn’t known before. When he was imprisoned, the room was always kept dim, but by that time, his eyes had been used to the darkness. He often heard sounds of a fight and screams from the other room. Hearing Vanitas’ voice more often now, it must’ve been Vanitas’ screams he heard. Did Xehanort..Riku shuddered to think about it. “And fine, we’ll go with your plan just because I can’t come up with anything right now besides running away from danger.” 

   “Haha, I knew you’d see things my way.” Vanitas grinned triumphantly and ate the rest of the fruit. “Maybe I’ll kill two birds with one stone and find the Avatar too.” 

   “Oh! I know her. She’s my friend!” Sora chimed in, oblivious to what Vanitas had meant by that. 

   “Oh hoho, that’s perfect,” he cackled, slapping his hand against his thigh. Riku squinted his eyes at Vanitas. 

   “Don’t get any ideas, Vanitas. We may be pretending to be your prisoners, but you’re the real prisoner here. You’re stuck with us.” He puffed out his chest slightly as he crossed his arms, attempting to show he meant it. Sora knew the Avatar? That girl he had met in the spirit world? She must’ve come from the island too. The last war had ended with the death of the last Avatar. There was no way he would let something like that happen again. But first things first, he had to at least find Namine.

* * *

 

Green blurred past her vision, running with staggered breaths. Though her chest burned and legs on the verge of collapsing, she kept running. 

   “Where you going, girlie?” The shouts of the soldiers were still close behind her. She furrowed her brows as it only made her sprint faster. A town..a village..something. She had to get somewhere where she could hide. Out of instinct as she passed by a river, she attempted a waterbender motion that she always saw Riku use to make a stream of water come shooting out, groaning in frustration as there was nothing but a few ripples. The heavy beat of boots were getting closer and closer, echoing through the forest like thunder. She yelped as her foot caught on a fallen branch. She skidded on the dried leaves and dirt with her shins, gritting her teeth at the stinging pain. As quickly as she could, she attempted to get right back up but cried out again when her muscles protested and cramped tightly, causing her to fall over again. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed at the dirt, digging her nails into it as she pulled herself forward. 

   “Riku..someone..please,” she sobbed, hearing them right beyond the next line of trees. 

   “Well, well, thought you could run, did you?” one of the soldiers laughed as they casually walked up to her. “Though I’m surprised you made it this far.” 

She squeezed her eyes shut as it looked like he was about to kick her. When the blow never came, she peeked one eye open to see a man with long blue hair and an X shaped scar stop him. 

   “That’s enough. Our orders are to bring the survivors of the village back alive. There’s no need for cruelty.” His voice was calm and even but there was a power behind it. 

   “Y-yes, General Saix.” The soldier quickly backed away to the others, looking like he had just had an encounter with a ghost. 

He bent down and offered his hand to her. “If you come quietly, you have my promise you won’t be hurt, Namine.” 

Namine gave him a fierce look, starting to back up again. “I know you. You’re a waterbender. How can you let these horrible acts against people like you happen?” She felt something rough underneath her hand and without even thinking, threw the small stone right at Saix, scraping his cheek. 

   “So, you still want to fight, do you?” Saix stood up to his full height. Namine watched as he gracefully waterbended some of the water out of his canteen, forming it into the shape of a claymore. Though she could barely move, Namine put on a brave face, raising an arm up to guard herself. She recalled all that Riku had taught her about self defense even if it did seem hopeless. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow move past. There were no audible footsteps but when she blinked, she saw someone standing between her and Saix. The dark haired girl brandished a real claymore, pointing it right at Saix with a deadly look in her dark blue eyes. 

   “Get out of here, Organization scum.” Namine gasped at the sheer strength in her voice. The conviction conveyed was clear. Saix was taken by surprise at first but his face soon settled back into the usual poker face. 

   “Ah, one of the deserters. So, you finally face me, Xion. The other ones wouldn’t happen to be with you, would they? I can drag all you traitors back,” he said, readying his water clayborn. 

   “You tell me, Saix.” Namine looked to the right to see a blonde haired guy joining Xion’s side. With a flurry of flames, he firebended two swords of fire in his hands. 

   “Roxas. So, you’re here as well.” 

   “Come on, let’s go while he’s distracted.” Namine jumped at a different voice behind her. She glanced up at a red haired man offering her his hand. She didn’t know these three, but if they were facing off against a general of the Organization then they couldn’t be bad. Without much of a choice, she nodded and accepted his hand. “Name’s Lea by the way, but you can call me Axel.” He scooped her up, starting to back away but stopped short at Saix’s voice. 

   “And you as well, Axel. All three traitors in one place.” 

   “Haha, hey, chief. I was just leaving actually. So, don’t have time for a chat,” he chuckled, continuing to back up before straight up sprinting away with Namine. 

   “Now, Roxas!” At the signal, Roxas bended a fireball into his hand, chucking it at the ground as the dried leaves erupted in flames within seconds. By the time Saix had extinguished it with water, the other two were gone as they followed after Axel. 

   “Shall we go after them, sir?” 

   “Let them run for now. There’s nowhere they can go to escape us anyway.”

* * *

 

Riku was thankful that during their journey, Vanitas had eventually fallen asleep, giving him some much needed peace and quiet. He resumed water bending the boat forward until they reached the port of Traverse Town. Once the boat rubbed against the dock, Sora quickly jumped down to tie it there. He gasped in amazement as he saw the large town not that far away. Being the afternoon, it was bustling with people. 

   “Wow! I’ve never seen so many people before! And look at all the huge buildings.” Sora was practically jumping up and down, wanting to just run over there. Riku watched his excitement fondly, remembering that all Sora had known so far was the islands. 

   “Yeah, the world is a huge place full of all kinds of people.” He bumped Vanitas with his leg to wake him up, resulting in a growl from the other. 

   “Watch it, asshole.” 

   “We’re here. Get up,” he said shortly as he hopped down from the boat. 

In his sleepy state, Vanitas nearly slipped off the dock and into the water below but managed to land on his butt on the dock instead. 

   “Come on, Vanitas! We’ll take you clothes shopping.” Sora offered him his hand which was quickly swatted away as Vanitas got himself up. 

   “Alright, alright. Just stop talking so loudly, gods.” 

Riku opted to hang out outside the shop as Sora dragged Vanitas inside. He noticed the weary looks of the people at seeing Vanitas in the armor. With the spread of Scala and the Organization’s forces, it wasn’t unusual to see soldiers in a town like this, but Riku could understand their fear. Someone could get taken away at a moment’s notice. At spotting some soldiers around, Riku tried his best to keep a low profile, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. He at least didn’t dress like a traditional waterbender, sticking with a simple tank top and arm sleeves, still he could never be too careful. Anyone with the rare silver hair could be spotted from a mile away. He was sure Ephemer was the only other person he knew of besides himself with silver hair. 

Riku tapped his finger against his arm impatiently as it had been almost an hour since Sora and Vanitas had gone in there. He knew clothes shopping took time but still. Just as he was about to go in there, the two of them came out. Riku blinked a few times as he looked over Vanitas. The armor was completely gone besides his metal gauntlet on his right arm replaced with a red sleeveless shirt, and simple black pants. As he had said, he still wore the Organization’s emblem around his neck. 

   “Wow, you actually look like a normal person,” Riku snickered. 

   “What’s that supposed to mean, you fuck?” Vanitas lunged forward with a fire in his eyes. 

   “He means you look good.” Sora had a new outfit as well with a short sleeved v-neck and cropped pants. Riku felt like his heart stopped for a moment just looking at him. 

   “Oh, um, you look really good,” he stammered, covering his face with his hand as an embarrassed blush spread across his face. 

   “O-oh, you think so?” Sora smiled blissfully at the comment, even doing a twirl for him. 

   “Oh my gods. You two are hopeless,” Vanitas groaned as he watched that display, covering his face. 


	7. Chapter 7

The halls of the main citadel were completely silent save for Terra’s own footsteps. They echoed coldly through the halls as moonlight shone in through the cathedral like windows. His hands shook violently even weeks after the attack. Gods, what had he done? The faces of all the villagers were plastered into his mind, including the look of absolute rage from the silver haired waterbender as he watched them take him away. How could Master Eraqus be so blind? Couldn’t he see what Xehanort was doing? At this rate, he was going to start another war, and Terra was already wrapped around his finger. Dammit, he was such a fool for even listening to him. A large crack lurched up the wall he had slammed his fist into. There was only one way to right this. 

As usual, he found Master Eraqus in the main throne room, pacing along the floor as soft candlelight lit the room. 

   “Oh, Terra. I didn’t hear you come in.” He furrowed his brows as he noticed the odd expression on Terra’s face. His eyes seemed..colder than usual. “Something troubling you?” 

   “I’m not even sure where to begin with that,” Terra sighed, bowing slightly before approaching him. 

   “Admiral Xehanort has already informed me that the deserters have begun to act in rebellion against us along with various other nations. They just don’t understand that to make this world truly ours, the spirits must be controlled.” 

   “And that means capturing innocent waterbenders and imprisoning them? Destroying their homes?” Terra’s voice echoed along the walls as he raised his voice, clenching his fist in disgust. “You know he’s feeding you lies, and you believe every word.” 

   “Xehanort is my friend, Terra. Why shouldn’t I trust him? He’s right. The world has only grown more chaotic since the war. People are being possessed by evil spirits and causing mayhem. It threatens everything we know. Why do you hold doubt in your heart?” Eraqus’ expression turned stern as he raised his voice as well. 

   “Why the waterbenders? Ever since the attack on a village and capturing the silver haired waterbender, I haven’t felt right. This isn’t right.” Sora pressed his fist against his heart. Right now, he just felt like tearing his own heart out. 

   “They’re some of the closest to the spirits. We’ve also learned of a barbaric practice they use known as bloodbending. They can use the water within people's’ blood to control them and kill them easily. Xehanort told me about the silver haired one’s escape. He used bloodbending and snapped the necks of about ten people at once. We can’t overlook something like that. It’s a pity he escaped before Ansem was able to do any of his work on him. We can only hope he can be recaptured.” 

Terra felt like he was going to puke at how matter of factly Eraqus put it. He couldn’t really be okay with this, could he? 

   “You’re a puppet,” Terra said under his breath, backing away slightly. 

   “Excuse me?” Terra flinched at a harsh gust of wind simply from Eraqus stepping towards him. 

   “I said you’re a puppet. You’re being used, mislead. This isn’t the way to make the world more at peace. You haven’t learned anything from the past war.” Terra glanced at his own hands still feeling the overwhelming power he couldn’t shake. “I never want to use my bending for Xehanort’s nefarious plans. I don’t want to hurt people. So, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll be better off without my bending.” Terra quickly turned around, not even wanting to look at him, starting to walk away. 

   “Terra..your bending is a gift. Don’t do this.” 

Terra shrugged off the hand on his shoulder. He made up his mind. There was no point in turning back. “No, it’s a curse. I’m going to find the Avatar and ask her to take my bending away. Only she can do that. Everyone will be better off.” 

    “Wait, Terra. Please think about this.” 

Terra glanced back with his same cold expression. “Do the right thing, Master Eraqus. See through Xehanort’s lies.” He left him with that, taking a deep breath as he left through the doors. 

Terra’s hands still shook as he started to get a small pack ready. He kept telling himself that he was never coming back here. Though he knew this had to be done, there was a hollow empty feeling in his chest at leaving this place. He had trained here, made friends here. He used to look up to Master Eraqus, but now he felt nothing but disdain. At a soft knock on the doorframe behind him, Terra flinched, already guessing who it was. 

   “So, you’re really leaving, huh?” 

Ever so slowly, Terra turned around to see blue hair shining softly in the candlelight. Aqua.. The only reason she wasn’t imprisoned like the other waterbenders was because she lived here. Who knew how long she’d have her freedom. 

   “Yes. I have to. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.” Terra slung the small backpack on. He glanced away when Ventus joined Aqua’s side. 

   “Don’t leave, Terra. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can work through it together.” 

   “It’s not that simple, Ven!” Terra snapped but instantly quieted his voice when Ventus shrank back behind Aqua slightly. “This is something I have to do..alone. Please don’t follow me.” 

He focused back on Aqua with a nod. “If you want to do something, I suggest going out to the other nations and seeing what Xehanort is doing. Waterbenders like you are suffering. I know he’s trying to find more silver haired waterbenders, but for what reason I don’t know. I saw the one they took away. His face when he looked at me..so full of rage and confusion. You should look into it.” 

   “I’ve heard rumors, but..they can’t really be imprisoning innocent people..can they?” Aqua cast her gaze down, knitting her eyebrows together. “But..if you’re sure this is what you have to do, then I guess there isn’t much I can do to stop you.” 

   “It’s bad, Aqua. You and Ven should find out the truth for yourselves. At this rate, I fear they’re going to start another war.” Terra gazed around his room once more before walking up to them, placing a hand on Aqua’s shoulder and ruffling Ventus’ hair. “Take care of yourselves. I hope that when we meet again, things will be better.” 

With the stars spread across the sky, Terra left the outer walls of the kingdom. He glanced back at the spiraling towers only once before looking forward at the path ahead of him. He’ll start this journey one step at a time. Having no idea how to even find the Avatar, Terra took the steps towards a new destiny. 

Ventus followed Aqua’s movements with a look of confusion as she paced around, piling supplies into a pack of her own along with another for Ventus. 

   “Aqua? Are we leaving too?” Why was all of this happening? Just yesterday, all of them had been fine..or at least that seemed so on the surface. If Aqua chose to go too, he’d follow her. Terra was gone, and there was no way he was going to be left alone. 

   “Well, I feel like we don’t really have a choice at this point. There was something bothering Terra that he didn’t want to tell us. He says the waterbenders are suffering, and as a waterbender myself, I can’t stand for that.” She thrusted a backpack into Ventus’ arms. “I’m not going to be kept in the dark even if Master Eraqus disapproves.” 

   “He said something about ‘silver haired’ waterbenders. What does that mean?” Was Terra’s heart really hurting that much? So much that he had to go off on his own? 

   “I’m afraid I’m not sure. I didn’t grow up among other waterbenders to know the culture and connections with the spirits like they have, but we’re going to find out.” Seeing the look of uncertainty on Ventus’ face, she knelt down to draw him into a hug. “But we’ll do it together, okay? I’m not going to leave you, Ven. We’ll protect each other, right? And we’ll see Terra again. Something tells me he’s not gone for good.” 

Ventus sniffled as he leaned against her, closing his eyes against her warmth. “Yeah. I trust you, Aqua, and I do want to see the world. I do have to admit I’m scared, but I’ll be brave.” 

   “Let’s go, then, Ven.” She kept a hand on his shoulder as they walked through the winding halls and stone streets: the only world they had known so far.

* * *

 

Riku nearly had a heart attack as a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. Scala soldiers. Riku wanted to snarl but tried his best to put on his best smile, mirroring Sora’s own happy go lucky one. 

   “Silver hair, huh? That’s a pretty rare trait, isn’t it?” one of them asked, analyzing Riku. 

   “Haha, yeah, I guess? It’s just my hair, sir.” Riku pitched his voice up to sound as friendly as possible even if right now he wanted to knock this guy out. Right now, he was thinking over his options. With the ocean nearby and a canteen full of water, he could easily take them out. He thanked himself for deciding to cut his hair to make him at least somewhat less recognizable. 

   “Ah, good soldiers of Admiral Xehanort. Sorry, I didn’t mean for my  _ prisoners  _ here to wander off so far.” Vanitas quickly inserted himself between them, giving a little salute. 

Due to the outfit change, they were confused as to who was addressing him before being shot with realization from his yellow eyes and metal gauntlet. They stiffened up and enthusiastically saluted back. “O-oh, Champion Vanitas!! So, your mission was a success, then?” 

   “Why aren’t your prisoners in chains?” the other one asked suspiciously. Riku and Sora shrank back behind Vanitas, pretending to appear dejected. 

   “There’s no need. They know what’ll happen to them if they try to run, right?” Vanitas took the opportunity to elbow Riku directly in his stomach, causing him to double over. “Bitch..” he muttered under his breath. Sora pursed his lips as he tried to hold back a laugh. 

   “See? They’re afraid of my power, so I have no need to tie them up.” Vanitas puffed out his chest out of habit to make up for his height. 

   “We apologize. Of course, Scala’s champion would be feared! We’ll leave you to your business transporting them.” Without any other hiccups, they bowed and went about their way. 

   “Wow, that was great, Vanitas! They totally believed you,” Sora said as he helped Riku up. 

   “Didn’t I tell you it would work? They don’t want to mess with my power,” Vanitas bragged with a triumphant smirk. “But don’t forget that I’m not in this situation with you two dorks by choice.” 

   “You certainly take every opportunity possible to make me suffer, don’t you?” Riku coughed, quietly thanking Sora. 

Though he had to admit, having Vanitas with them did give them a huge advantage to not being caught. Until the other side realized the ruse, they could go most anywhere without fear. But how long would they be safe like this? Surely, Xehanort and his Organization would realize eventually. Nevertheless, they should keep moving. 

   “Let’s keep going forward. My old village was by the great forest to the east. We’ll go in that direction,” Riku said once he had caught his breath. 

   “Whatever you say oh great master,” Vanitas teased, still rather pleased with himself. Him and Sora followed after Riku back to the boat. 

Far above on one of the towers overlooking Traverse Town, one amber eye watched them closely. 

   “That’s right. Keep going like everything’s alright. Wait ‘til Xehanort hears about this.” The man cracked his knuckles, standing up as he focused his gaze on the horizon. “This is gonna be more fun than I thought.” 


	8. Chapter 8

Waves crashed along a rocky shore. The water’s sheen against the onyx rocks shone against the sun high above. Though the storms had ceased for the moment, harsh winds still blew the sparse trees and grass around, making the grassy fields look like a green ocean. 

   “Thank you, miss! Have a great day!” The silver haired boy exuded a sunlight of his own just as powerful as the one in the sky. 

   “Oh, not a problem. I didn’t catch your name,” the young woman of the flower shop said. She couldn’t help but smile back, finding his grin rather contagious. 

   “It’s Ephemer. A sunny day is rather rare here, isn’t it?” 

   “Well, yeah. They don’t call this place Storm Isle for nothing. Whether it be during the day or night, there’s always rain or some kind of storm. I like it though.” She glanced down at the bouquet of flowers he had bought. “Might I ask what the flowers are for? Someone special?” 

   “You could say that, though it’s more like multiple special someones.” Ephemer wore a jaded expression as he admired the array of colors. “They’re for my friends. They’re..not with us anymore, but I figure I’ll make a little memorial for them by the sea while I’m here. This used to be one of their favorite places.” With a gloved hand, he slid a white colored one that shimmered under the sunlight. “Here. You can have this one. I know you’re surrounded by flowers everyday, but I think this one represents me well.” 

   “My condolences..for your friends.” She hesitantly took the small flower, holding it up to the light. “I’ll keep this flower safe. I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Go and enjoy this rare nice day.” 

With a wave, Ephemer left the shop and back out into the sunshine. He squinted his green eyes at the harsh light, having to use his hand to shield them slightly as he made his way to the cliffs. How odd that the war seemed like it was so long ago, and yet, the wounds and the will of his friends that he had carried from it still seemed as close as ever. 

He picked a cliff that was still somewhat sheltered, picking up small rocks as he went along. Under an ancient looking tree, he arranged the rocks into a circle before placing the flowers in the middle one by one. With each flower, he whispered a name, letting the wind catch his words. He hoped the wind would carry his voice to them in whatever world they were in now. In the shade of the tree, he knelt down by the small shrine for a long while. His red scarf moved about in the wind like a graceful serpent. 

   “I don’t want to leave, but..I should get back to my mission. Hope you guys are well.” He smiled fondly, taking a deep breath of the ocean air before getting up. 

He figured he should stock up on supplies while he was here before heading out. After all this time, he ought to pay that waterbender village a visit: the one that saved him. 

   “Mommy, I haven’t seen  _ any  _ waterbenders come through here. I usually see a whole bunch of them, and they do cool tricks. Do they not like this place anymore?” 

Ephemer turned his head at the mention of waterbenders. Was that really true? This town was popular with them since it rained almost all the time, not to mention the ocean right nearby. 

   “Oh, honey.” The mother knelt down, patting her head with a look of uncertainty. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing many waterbenders for a while. You’ve heard the news. They’re in trouble.” From her wording, it seemed she was trying her best to sugar coat it for the little kid. 

   “Aww, but they would never hurt anybody. I don’t know why they’re disappearing.” 

The mother simply shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll see one again soon, and they can do all sorts of neat tricks for you.” 

Ephemer stayed close by, shamelessly eavesdropping. It seemed the situation was worse than he thought. He needed to get that village as soon as possible. If it wasn’t too late already, maybe he could help them. 

   “Pssst.” Ephemer side eyed the kid, gesturing for him to get closer. When his mother wasn’t looking, the kid happily trotted over to Ephemer. 

   “Oh, are you an adventurer? I like your scarf and gloves,” he said with wide eyes. 

   “Aw, thank you. I wanted to show you something. You said you liked seeing waterbending tricks, right?” With a nod from the kid, Ephemer glanced around before moving his fingers in a wave like manner, drawing some water out of a bucket. He grinned as he manipulated it into different shapes and having it fly around the kid who looked like he had just seen the greatest thing ever. 

   “You’re a waterbender!” He quickly covered his mouth, saying it again in a whisper. “Thank you. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Do you know what happened to the others?” 

   “All I know is Scala’s forces are taking them away for some reason, and I’m going to find out why. Don’t you worry. I’ll be sure to come back here and show you my ultimate waterbending move.” Ephemer gave him a little preview by forming the small orb of water into a serpent like dragon. 

   “I’d love that! Please be safe out there!” 

   “That is a neat trick. I’d like to see more.” The deep voice made both the kid and Ephemer jump. The water splashed onto the ground as he lost his concentration. He furrowed his brows as a tall guy with long, silver hair walked up clapping. With a push from Ephemer, the kid ran off back to his mother. 

   “Hey, Xemnas. Guess finding me didn’t take you too long, huh?” Ephemer teased, wagging his finger at him. “I didn’t know I was so popular.” 

   “Hmph, as witty as ever, aren’t you? The only reason you get me is because all of the other Organization members are busy with other..nuisances. Xigbar has already located the other silver haired waterbender.” 

   “What? You guys found him already?” Ephemer had been hoping to find him first, but that just meant he had to hurry. “If that’s so, then I’m afraid I don’t have time for a big, dramatic fight with you. Maybe next time.” Just as he was about to sprint it past him, he was stopped by a wall of fire emanating from Xemnas’ hand. 

   “Not this time. I have a mission too. No more evading and hiding.” He looked less than pleased at a sudden blast of water to his face as Ephemer jumped back. 

   “Your funeral, then. Sure, I’m still young, but don’t forget, I’m a war veteran.” Ephemer glanced behind him, smirking at the barrels of water. 

   “Hmph, we’ll see just how much you retained from the war.” 

A beam of fire shot out from Xemnas’ hand directly at him. In one hand motion, Ephemer brought a stream of water from a barrel between him and the fire, effectively blocking it. Staying light on his feet, he created another stream, surfing on it around Xemnas. A few of the cowering townspeople peeked out from the windows, watching Ephemer surf around Xemnas. Clenching his fist, Ephemer, brought a myriad of ice crystals down on him before lunging straight at him with an ice blade. The inferno he created melted most of them, but he didn’t plan for Ephemer closing in in such close proximity. He grunted as the ice blade pierced into his torso, staining the ice red as drops of blood dripped down. Ephemer let go before any of it got on his gloves. 

   “Don’t tell me you’re holding back on me, Xemnas,” he teased, his hand out a ready to defend himself. 

   “Hehe, why don’t you stop holding back and bloodbend already?” Xemnas chuckled as he yanked out the ice shard. 

   “Bloodbend? What are you talking about?” It sounded familiar, but he really had no idea. 

   “Don’t play dumb. The other green eyed, silver haired waterbender can bloodbend: utilize the water in others’ blood to control them. You must have that same power.” Xemnas’ golden eyes nearly bored holes into him as if he was waiting for something to happen. 

   “Look, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe it’s true that I have the same power, but if I do, I don’t know how to use it.” Ephemer backed up further, not taking his eyes off of him for a second. “Just tell me where Xigbar is headed.” 

   “You really want to go after them, don’t you? The forest east of Traverse Town,” Xemnas said with an amused chuckle as he lowered his guard. “It’ll be far more interesting to see you try to save them. And once you’re broken, I’ll take care of you myself.” 

   “Wait, you’re just gonna let me go?” Ephemer lowered his arms a bit. “That doesn’t seem like you.” 

   “Believe me. I have much better things to do than chase you around, so let’s call it here. I look forward to seeing you imprisoned. We need both parts of the moon spirit after all.” 

Before Ephemer could say anything else, Xemnas turned, holding his hand against his wound. He cocked his head to the side. Strange. He couldn’t recall Xemnas just stopping like that especially when he seemed so adamant to fight him. Maybe there were other things on his mind. Nevertheless, he had a destination now: the eastern forest. If he hurried, maybe he could make it there just in time. 


	9. Chapter 9

It seemed that the more they walked, the more Vanitas seemed to be purposefully dragging his feet. Every five minutes, Riku had to pause to wait for him to catch up, feeling the pulsing in his head get worse and worse. Could he get any more difficult? Maybe it’d be easier if they just let him go scampering back to Xehanort, though..from what Riku had witnessed back when he was imprisoned, maybe Vanitas actually didn’t want to. 

   “Could you seriously walk any slower? We have to keep moving.” Riku took the opportunity to splash him with a stream of water from a nearby creek. 

   “Asshole,” Vanitas spat. He kicked his foot so rocks jutted out, causing Riku to trip and fall right on his face. 

   “Come oooon, guys. I know we can get along better than this. We’re on a journey together.” Sora pouted as he watched them continue to throw water and earth at each other. 

   “Did you forget that shortie here was tasked with dragging me back to Xehanort? Now, I’m just supposed to be buddy buddy with him since he’s supposedly ‘stuck’ here with us. Honestly, what’s even keeping you here?” Riku rubbed at his nose from the fall, feeling a bit of warmth dripping from it. 

   “I made a promise to Sora who saved my life no thanks to you: plain and simple,” Vanitas said matter of factly, conveniently hiding behind Sora. 

   “You sure it’s not because you just don’t want to go back to Xehanort. Listen, I couldn’t see much, but I know he didn’t treat you well. We’re like a shelter away from all that, aren’t we?” Riku crossed his arms. Antagonizing him further probably wasn’t going to help make this journey any quicker. Vanitas looked like he was about to say something but quickly shut up, glaring daggers at Riku. 

   “Vanitas..” Sora gave him a sympathetic look. 

   “Ugh, let’s just keep going, losers. Just so Riku stops his bitching.” 

For once, he was actually true to his word, keeping quiet as he trailed behind them. The line of trees was a welcome sight as they ventured into the Eastern forests, giving them some shelter from the harsh heat from the sun. Riku let Sora skip around and explore as long as he stayed within eyesight. Sora happily took the time to pick berries and flowers. Under the shade of a gigantic birch tree, he found flowers with dark petals that shimmered like the night sky. Reminding him of a certain waterbender, he carefully picked one. He gasped when he noticed more flowers nearby, though these had a hint of yellow in the middle. Vanitas gave Sora a look when he ran up to him, holding a black and yellow flower at him. 

   “Here, this flower reminded me of you: black and yellow, see?” Sora’s smile alone was enough to blind him. Vanitas felt his face heat up as he embarrassingly bowed his head so Sora could place it in his hair. What was with all this cute shit? 

   “Uh, thanks..I guess.” 

Sora ran over to Riku next, having to go on his tippy toes a bit to place the night sky flower in his hair. Riku’s face went beet red, sputtering out a “thanks, I love it.” 

Despite Sora being embarrassing, most of the walk through the forest was peaceful. Vanitas found himself listening fondly to he songs of the birds as they fluttered through the trees. For once, Riku had started to relax some. Maybe they’d finally get a break from the whole “in danger” thing. 

Riku was about to turn around and say something when he didn’t hear Vanitas’ footsteps, squinting his eyes when he saw him standing completely still and focusing on something behind them. He stood in front of Sora when he noticed a silhouette moving towards them through the trees. All was silent besides a slow clap from whoever it was. 

   “Well, well, I finally caught up to this odd trio.” Vanitas tensed up and readied himself as a man donning an eyepatch came out of the foliage. “I’m surprised you stuck with them this long, Vanitas. Though, I guess I can’t really blame you for not wanting to go back to the old man.” 

   “Xigbar..so they sent you. Just fight me already. I’m not in the mood to hear your annoying as fuck banter,” Vanitas said lowly, raising his metal projectiles out of his pack to circle around him. 

   “As much as I’d love to duke it out with you and drag you back there kicking and screaming, I’m here for him.” Xigbar pointed directly at Riku, cracking his fingers. “After all, silver haired waterbenders are hard to come by.” 

Riku readied himself in a waterbender stance. “I don’t know you, but there’s no way I’m ever going back there except to kick your asses.” 

As he started to run at him, a force from the side, knocked him over. Riku glared up at Vanitas with a deadly look in his eyes. 

   “What the hell-” 

   “Let me handle him. You have no idea what you’re up against. Ever heard of chi blockers?” Vanitas followed Xigbar’s pacing, keeping a guard for Sora and Riku. 

   “Chi blockers? Like the chakra points we use to bend?” Riku backed up some towards Sora. 

   “Yeah, exactly. This fucker can’t bend, but he moves quickly, and he specifically hits your chakra points to block them to immobilize you so you can’t bend. Knowing you, you’ll get incapacitated quickly.” 

Riku was about to protest, but Vanitas suddenly darted out right at Xigbar, turning the metal projectiles to points and launching them right at him. Xigbar merely smirked, following Vanitas’ movements. Vanitas had the advantage with his earthbending, using that to put up walls between them while using his metalbending to try to get hits from a long distance. 

   “Haha, I have to say. You are the old man’s protege or..should I say his tool?” Xigbar sneered, easily dodging the projectiles. Vanitas kicked back with a wall of rock whenever he got a little too close, fearful of letting him get a jump on him. “But it looks like the  _ pawn  _ can dance.” 

Pawn. Just the mention of the word caused Vanitas to mess up his footing, accidentally kicking the wrong way. With two fingers, Xigbar hit at points up his arm, causing it to go completely limp. 

   “Fucker! Take it back!” The hit to his chest nearly caused him to puke as Vanitas sputtered and fell to the ground. “I..I am good enough..I am..” 

   “That’s enough!” Without even thinking about why he was even attempting to help Vanitas, Riku launched himself at Xigbar with a wave of water following him. 

   “Riku! Wait!” Sora reached out for him but by that time, Riku was quickly closing the distance between him and Xigbar. 

A swift kick from Xigbar sent Riku flying back, tumbling as he ate dirt. 

   “Heh, foolish,” Xigbar chuckled. 

Riku punched at his own legs as he willed himself to get up, hand trembling as he got another wave ready. Xigbar had his hands poised and ready as he came stampeding right at Riku. For a moment, everything seemed to be going by so slowly. Riku knew he had to do something, seeing Vanitas breaking down on the ground and the amber of Xigbar’s eyes getting closer and closer. Instinctively, he held his arm out to guard even though that was the complete WRONG thing to do against someone with chi blocking skills. Hands shaking, Riku closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable hits. Maybe the pain would help him focus. Seconds ticked by, and..why wasn’t anything happening? Peeking one eye open, it took a moment to adjust to the bright sunlight, but there was someone standing between him and Xigbar. He watched as Xigbar swiftly hit the chi points down his outstretched arm, but that didn’t seem to stop him as a powerful wave washed over him, knocking him back. Wavy, silver hair shone in the sunlight, and eyes as green as Riku’s met his with a confident smile. 

   “Looks like I made it just in time!” A gloved hand reached out to him, and Riku accepted the helping hand as he tried to figure out what was going on. 

   “E..Ephemer?” He hadn’t seen him since he was a kid when his village saved him. Ephemer’s right arm hung limply at his side from the hits to his chakra points, but that didn’t stop his bright smile. 

   “Yup, good to see you again, Riku. I heard news that Xigbar would be going after you, so I got here as quickly as I could. Luckily, I wasn’t too far away.” 

Riku took a deep breath as he steadied himself seeing that Xigbar was getting back up. “It is nice to see you again, but..we gotta take this guy down first.” Seeing what Xigbar had done to Ephemer’s arm, Riku couldn’t afford to take any hits from him. The smirk on Xigbar’s face soon returned when he saw both Riku and Ephemer. 

   “Ohh, my day just keeps better and better. The two waterbenders we want are here in one place plus little Vannie.” He looked to Sora curiously. “Don’t know who you are, but I’m sure you can be of use too.” 

Snapping out his daze, Sora ran over to Vanitas, helping him up with a gentle touch. Vanitas was still breathing hard, but he was far too out of it to protest the help. 

   “Let’s do this together, Riku,” Ephemer said triumphantly, readying his good arm. 

   “Let me handle him. I don’t doubt your own abilities, but you’re down one arm, and you know how important the motion of our arms is for waterbending.” Riku stood out in front of him slightly. “We can’t risk both of us getting captured.” Riku was completely ready to bring out his water dragon move if necessary, sighing when it looked like Ephemer was still raring to go. As Sora dragged Vanitas off to a safe distance, the two of them worked as a team with Ephemer trying his best to keep up with one arm. Ephemer’s style was much more speed oriented, using streams of water and ice to skate around Xigbar while Riku focused on power, sheathing his arm in ice and going at him from close quarters. Riku gritted his teeth at one jab to his shoulder, already feeling his left arm shutting down. The two of them jumped back, panting as a little worse for wear. In a split decision, Sora called for Meow Wow who acted as a barrier between them and Xigbar. 

   “Are you guys so hopeless that you’re gonna sick a cute little spirit after me?” Xigbar laughed, looking like he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Riku clenched his fist. There was still Sora, but Vanitas was temporarily out of commission and him and Ephemer were getting their asses kicked. He couldn’t go back and let whatever sick plan Xehanort had come to fruition. He made a vow to himself that he’d never go back there again. 

   “Hey, Xigbitch! Think fast!” All of them whipped their heads around at a sudden voice from somewhere amongst the trees. 

A flash of blonde darted out, going right for Xigbar. With an inferno of flames from his fist, the whole area around Xigbar erupted into flames. Xigbar had to jump back just to avoid catching fire. 

   “Well, I didn’t expect a deserter to have the guts to face me. Hey, Roxas.” 

The blonde stared up at him with piercing blue eyes, fists balled up. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to kick your ass. You’re not gonna get your way this time.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Mickey is a mouse in this, but it's Avatar world. They have all sorts of strange creatures, so mouse people are a thing x)  
> I'm deciding to put up a warning for violence on here because of the bloodbending stuff and inevitably violent scenes that may come later.  
> There will be soriku on here since it's going to happen eventually once he meets Sora. I'll keep it gen for now until I get to that. But just so people know ^^


End file.
